- Current Africa Orphans Account Balance: $40.80
- Number of Squares shipped: 59 as of 9/13/10
Common questions I get:
What are you knitting?
8" squares to ship to Africa which will then be made into quilts and distributed to Orphans affected by AIDS.
Why raise money?
I'm a grad student on a tight budget....I want desperately to help these Orphans but wool yarn and shipping can be very pricey. So I am using 80% of profits from all items sold in my Etsy store to help fund the wool, shipping, and other things requested by Knit-A-Square (such as trash bags, pencils, paper, crayons, small toys). The remaining 20% of profits go towards buying more fabric to make more items to be sold in the Etsy store....see the cycle?
Why Africa? Why Orphans? Why AIDS?
Most of these children are completely helpless. They are born into a society stricken with AIDS, and if they are lucky enough not to contract AIDS form their mother during birth, they will most likely loose their parents to AIDS long before they are old enough to care for themselves. Believe it or not it does get cold in Africa - and if you are hungry, alone, possibly sick, at least you can be warm. A blanket is something they can use everyday.
What is Knit-A-Square?
It is a foundation based in South Africa. People from all over the world send in 8" knitted squares to be made into blankets. It takes anywhere from 12 - 30 squares to make one blanket. Once the blankets are made, the foundation goes out into the communities of Africa to distribute the blankets to children in need. More info here
Contents of first shipment to Africa!
Shipped 9/13/10, arrived on 1/14/11
Not pictured: trash bags, 2 pairs of knitting needles, 6 yarn darning needles, 3 skeins of yarn
Used the Keurig box I had on hand, turned it inside out and cut it down
Packaged and ready to go!!
Total cost of shipping was $74.40, for a 10lb "large" box using USPS.
I plan on shipping another box of squares in March!
Absolutely inspiring! Thank you!
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